Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Still reeling from the damage done by Vorgen Cyphon, Orono Zoiji was called in to help in a dispute over Ord Mantell. Guerilla bands were trying to leave the Republic and he was to be the mediator. His best student Nadia Grell was to accompany him. When diplomacy failed, Orono instead lead the defense of Ord Mantell. Or so it seemed. In truth, he had made a deal with the rebels. At the right moment both sides would jointly attack the buildings where the corrupt politicians were housed and bring them to justice. While surging through the buildings as planned, it was found the politicians had years worth of food and supplies, things that the rebels believed were being hoarded from them. The politicians were found, captured, tried and executed forthwith. Thus ended the Battle of Ord Mantell.

Thursday, September 8, 2011

As the Cold War dragged on, the Sith were looking for more ways to beat the Republic. A solution was found by Vorgen Cyphon who believed modifying the Republic's discarded soldiers with extensive cybernetic surgery would make them effective warriors. And thus the Prometheus Project was launched. The first subject was Ivan Xarok a general who had been left to die by his soldiers in a exploding ship. When brought in all that remained of him were burned organs, shattered bones and a severed head. By the end he had been completely rebuilt in a metal cybernetic body. His arms could launch explosives, his hands could become chainsaws, and in addition to his arm morphing into a lightsaber resistant sword, all his physical traits were increased tenfold. The incredibly durable metal that made up his body was concealed by a set of bloodied bones, to increase fear factor on the battlefield. The next subject was Doctor Krongel, a famed Republic scientist and surgeon. While working to create a strain of adaptable cells aboard a orbital laboratory, he came under attack from mercenary ships, releasing not only the cells but a deadly mix of poisons. Initially thought to be dead he had in fact been recovered by a Sith scout team. Upon examination it was revealed that the years of exposure to the poisons also made him dependent on them. Not wanting to waste his talents, the Sith created a needle-riddled apparatus, complete with a gas mask and cybernetic legs that would allow him to survive. Furious that the Republic had not come back for him the doctor renounced his name and became Cadaver.

Monday, September 5, 2011

With the Republic currently occupied with the murder trials, Vorgen Cyphon now had proper time to train Ivana Jorloss, also known as Mirage in his craft. Due to her prior training, she was a phenomenal success, beating every opponent in close-combat sparring. She also had an unnatural talent for hacking, demolitions and long-range rifle use. Receiving in addition some cybernetics that enhanced endurance, strength and agility with lung implants that made her invulnerable to all poisons and able to "breath" in the vacuum of space, she was a true Imperial prodigy. Agent Mirage's first assignment was where she revealed her final talent: wielding a lightsaber. She had been sent to eliminate a Jedi enclave under the pretense of avenging the Coruscant Incident. A group of Padawans first moved in to fight her but with her enhanced strength she tossed them aside like rag dolls, pummeling them into submission. Then came a pair of Jedi Knights, who fared no better than their brethren as Mirage effortlessly dodged their blows and slit their throats with a survival knife. The last of her targets was the Jedi Master of the enclave. Using the anger of not being able to save her family, she charged at him delivering a series of punches and giving grievous wounds with her knife each time. Finally she had the master backed against the wall. As she grabbed the lightsaber from his hand ready to give the killing blow, she heard an unexpected sound: the raucous cheering of a crowd. She turned to see a battered but active receiver that had broadcasted the entire event to the families affected by the murders. Hungry for vengeance, they cheered and nearly begged her to give the blow. Without once flinching, Agent Mirage did so. There were of course those who believed this act was murder, but due to the current outrage of the past murders, Mirage was cleared of all charges and allowed to go free, sealing her place as Vorgen Cyphon's best student.

Sunday, September 4, 2011

Of all the damage Vorgen Cyphon had done to the Republic, no blow was more severe than the Coruscant Incident. A special nerve gas had been developed by the Sith to, when applied to a pursuer make even the most frail old man look like the one being chased. To test this, Vorgen Cyphon allowed himself to be captured over Coruscant and be taken to a Jedi-staffed prison. At the right moment during a brief loss of electrical power, Vorgen Cyphon released the gas into the air and ran past the dazed Jedi. The gas made the Jedi see anyone as Cyphon and they each attacked accordingly. To their horror, they discovered that the bodies instead belonged to innocent citizens. This caused an uproar in the Senate, who viewed the Jedi involved as mindless murderers. Several planets separated from the Republic and joined the Sith, completing Vorgen Cyphon's most vital mission.

After recovering in the escape pod, Orono was assigned to a month-long guard of the Jorloss family, five members running a highly sought after mercenary contracting firm that was based out of Sanctus Prime and in talks with the Republic. Anything that was considering Republic alliances also became the target of Vorgen Cyphon, the Sith Empire's best assassin. The nights on Sanctus Prime were very long, up to weeks at a time making it perfect for quick murders. The first to die was family matriarch Markus Jorloss who as he was relaxing on a outside balcony, received a poison-laden bullet to the head, killing him instantly. The next victims were the three brothers, Eli, Ulion and Ghari. The three shared a passion for racing which would be their undoing. While repairing their Street Speeder vehicles, Cyphon placed in a miniature bomb to be activated when a certain speed was reached. Each of the brothers died together when the resulting explosion incinerated their bodies. The last member was Ivana Jorloss, the only daughter in the family. Unlike her father and brothers who led leisurely lives due to their wealth, she chose to lead a life of labor and military training, making her one of Vorgen's most difficult enemies in his entire career. Using a prototype disguise projector supplied by the Sith, he entered Ivana's room in the guise of a retired mercenary. She viciously attacked him, using a mix of fighting techniques not available to even the Sith. Eventually finding a gap in her defense, a battered and bruised Vorgen Cyohon gave her a strong sedative, called in a droid decoy of himself and escaped. As all this had occurred, Orono Zoiji was unable to find the culprit for the murders until he saw what he believed was Vorgen Cyphon fleeing the scene. However he found out all too late that it was a fake, for just after he had "Cyphon" placed on a prison transport it revealed itself to be a decoy and self-destructed destroying the ship and all onboard. The real Vorgen Cyphon had escaped hours before and awaited Ivana's awakening onboard the Black Rose. When this happened he explained to her that the unseen assassin that killed her family had been hired by the Republic, and that he would train her in all of of his skills to hunt him down and kill him. Ivana agreed and pledged all of her company's resources to the Sith Empire, securing her rebirth as Cyphon's apprentice: Agent Mirage.

Saturday, September 3, 2011

A year after the escape of the Esseles, Orono encountered a threat even worse than Darth Mortis: Imperial Agent Vorgen Cyphon. The most elite of his sniper regiment, Vorgen had been conducting assassination, bribery, blackmail and several other black ops missions without any flaw, which left a small trail to follow. As if that were not bad enough, he had the help of a spy droid SCORPIO and anarchist criminal Kaliyo Djannis to properly cover his tracks and frame another for the act. What little that was known about Cyphon was that his species was human, his home was Nal Hutta, the criminal center of the galaxy, traveled in the seldom-seen Phantom-class stealth ship, the Black Rose, and that in a training class of sixty others he was the only survivor. Rare evidence found aboard the Esseles suggested that he had a part to play in the attack. Then on a patrol over Coruscant, Orono spotted Cyphon, chased down his ship, and boarded. In the crew quarters, he and Cyphon squared off. In the midst of the fighting, Orono asked his opponent why he fought for the vile Sith instead of the Republic. Vorgen spat back that the Republic was, "a den of fat slugs, leaving many good men and women to die like dogs while its leaders cower in their holes". His family had not been exempt, either. When he was only a young boy, the simple house he shared with his family had come under attack by Hutt bandits. They begged the Republic for help, but as Nal Hutta was out of their influence Vorgen and his family were on their own. The worst came when Vorgen saw his entire family bound and shot dead in front of him. In a rage, Vorgen launched himself at the pirates, shooting one in the head and gouging out the eye of another. However the leader managed to shoot him five times in the head and chest, leaving him for dead. Six months later Vorgen awoke in a Sith medical facility now outfitted with cybernetics to increase his performance. Since then he had dedicated his life to avenging his family, one Republic life at a time. Remembering similar experiences, Orono let his guard down long enough for Vorgen to stun him and leave him unconscious in an escape pod. This proved to Vorgen that the Jedi, who likened themselves to gods could be beaten...